Michael SHEETZ
Founding Director and Collaborator, Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
Affiliations
Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UTMB Health
Xixun Lu
SPS Intern, Chan Group
Hannah Fung
Research Fellow, Li Group
Hatice Zohra Michèle Holuigue
Research Fellow, Young Group
Seeking Research Assistant in the lab of Dr. Anne Beghin at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
We are seeking a Research Assistant to join the lab of Dr. Anne Beghin at the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS
Zheng Kexiao
Research Associate, Yu Group
Michael Sheetz
Collaborator
Research Areas
Cell migration, cell-cell and cell-substrate interaction
Research Interests
The morphology of cells, organs and whole organisms is determined by the generation of forces on the immediate environment, which is either extracellular matrix or adjacent cells. We are currently engaged in studies to understand the detailed molecular mechanisms involved in a variety of phenomena from cancer metastasis to brain function. Further, we are developing several new tools and protocols for measuring cell forces at the molecular level, which are revealing many new aspects of how cells can both generate and respond to external forces. We have an effort underway to define quantitatively the steps involved in cell adhesion to and spreading on a matrix-coated surface. Using a variety of cell lines that are missing proteins in various motility pathways, we are determining the quantitative changes in the spreading process. This will enable us to generate a detailed model of the process of spreading that will be a model for further studies of how cells differentiate, regenerate tissues or metastasize.
Biography
Hailing from Columbia University, Prof Michael Sheetz has more than 40 years’ experience in the biomedical field. Introduced to Singapore by Prof Hew Choy Leong of the National University of Singapore’s Department of Biological Sciences, Prof Sheetz was sought to lead an RCE project. This resulted in a two-year effort to organise and submit a proposal on Mechanobiology where Prof Sheetz set the theme and direction of the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI). As Founding Director of the MBI, he led the institute for 10 years and built it into a world-leading research centre in the field of mechanobiology.
Education
PhD California Institute of Technology
Recent Publications
- Jain K, Kishan K, Minhaj RF, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, and Changede R. Immobile Integrin Signaling Transit and Relay Nodes Organize Mechanosignaling through Force-Dependent Phosphorylation in Focal Adhesions. ACS Nano 2025;. [PMID: 39760672]
- Lin S, Changede R, Farrugia AJ, Bershadsky AD, Sheetz MP, Prost J, and Rupprecht J. Membrane Tilt Drives Phase Separation of Adhesion Receptors. Phys Rev Lett 2024; 132(18):188402. [PMID: 38759206]
- Jain K, Minhaj RF, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, and Changede R. Nano-clusters of ligand-activated integrins organize immobile, signalling active, nano-clusters of phosphorylated FAK required for mechanosignaling in focal adhesions. bioRxiv 2024;. [PMID: 38464288]
- Jain K, Pandey A, Wang H, Chung T, Nemati A, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, Cai H, and Changede R. TiO2 Nano-Biopatterning Reveals Optimal Ligand Presentation for Cell-Matrix Adhesion Formation. Adv Mater 2024;:e2309284. [PMID: 38340044]
- Jain K, Lim KYE, Sheetz MP, Kanchanawong P, and Changede R. Intrinsic self-organization of integrin nanoclusters within focal adhesions is required for cellular mechanotransduction. bioRxiv 2023;. [PMID: 38045378]
- Oh D, Liu X, Sheetz MP, and Kenney LJ. Small, Dynamic Clusters of Tir-Intimin Seed Actin Polymerization. Small 2023;:e2302580. [PMID: 37649226]
- Qin R, Melamed S, Yang B, Saxena M, Sheetz MP, and Wolfenson H. Tumor Suppressor DAPK1 Catalyzes Adhesion Assembly on Rigid but Anoikis on Soft Matrices. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:959521. [PMID: 35927990]
- Jain K, Kanchanawong P, Sheetz MP, Zhou X, Cai H, and Changede R. Ligand functionalization of titanium nanopattern enables the analysis of cell-ligand interactions by super-resolution microscopy. Nat Protoc 2022;. [PMID: 35896742]
- Toh PJY, Lai JKH, Hermann A, Destaing O, Sheetz MP, Sudol M, and Saunders TE. Optogenetic control of YAP cellular localisation and function. EMBO Rep 2022;:e54401. [PMID: 35876586]
- Oh D, Chen Z, Biswas KH, Bai F, Ong HT, Sheetz MP, and Groves JT. Competition for shared downstream signaling molecules establishes indirect negative feedback between EGFR and EphA2. Biophys J 2022;. [PMID: 35430415]
Lab Members
What is cell migration?
What is cell migration? Cell migration is the directed movement of a single cell or a group of cells in response to chemical and/or mechanical signals. It is a fundamental cellular process that occurs [...]
How is tubulogenesis regulated by mechanics?
How is tubulogenesis regulated by mechanics? The basic steps during tube formation, including cell polarization, the formation of small multiple lumens and the coalescence of multiple lumens into a single lumen, and subsequent tube [...]
What are epithelial tubes?
What are epithelial tubes? Tubulogenesis, or the formation of tubes, is one of the fundamental morphogenetic events taking place during development. Several major organs, such as the respiratory, circulatory, and secretory systems, are constituted [...]
How are lipids and protein complexes segregated during cell polarization?
How are lipids and protein complexes segregated during cell polarization? In polarized epithelial cells, the apical membrane is rich in PIP2 and houses the PAR and Crumbs polarity complexes while the basal membrane contains [...]
How is the cytoskeleton polarized?
How is the cytoskeleton polarized? As well as the asymmetric organization of cellular components, polarity can also be defined through the structural orientation of the cytoskeleton, in particular, actin filaments and microtubules. This is [...]
What is the epithelial to mesenchymal transition?
What is the epithelial to mesenchymal transition? Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the process whereby epithelial cells are transformed into mesenchymal cells. Epithelial cells form the epithelium tissue which covers the internal and [...]
What is the mesenchymal to epithelial transition?
What is the mesenchymal-epithelial transition? During development, the transitioning of epithelial cells to a mesenchymal lineage is not an irreversible process. Instead, a number of developmental programs are accompanied by a reversal of EMT, [...]
What is hematopoiesis?
What is hematopoiesis? The hematopoietic system, which comprises all the cellular components of the blood, is one of the earliest organ systems to evolve during embryo development. Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are rare [...]
What is the cellular origin of hematopoietic stem cells?
What is the cellular origin of hematopoietic stem cells? Based on findings from a large number of anatomical, biochemical, and genetic studies carried out over the years, three major theories have been put forth [...]
What are cell-cell adhesions?
What are cell-cell adhesions? Cell-cell signaling refers to inter-cellular communication through the transduction of chemical, mechanical or electrical signals, facilitated by the formation of specialized cell-cell adhesion junctions. There are three main types of [...]
How are cell-cell adhesions regulated?
How are cell-cell adhesions regulated? Introduction to the regulation of cell-cell adhesion The assembly and disassembly of cell-cell junctions, such as adherens junctions (AJ), are regulated by a vast array of factors functioning in [...]
How is hematopoiesis regulated by mechanics?
How is hematopoiesis regulated by mechanics? Once blood circulation is established during the earliest stages of hematopoiesis, the pulsatile nature of blood flow within the aorta generates a range of biomechanical forces, such as [...]
